BUTI to celebrate 50th anniversary
Lenox — Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) will present a variety of activities on Saturday, August 6, in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
The highlight of the day will be a 2:30 p.m. concert will celebrate the legacy and future of BUTI. Emceed by Emmy Award-nominee Lauren Ambrose (BUTI ’94, ’95), the concert will showcase students and faculty from BUTI’s Young Artists Programs, alumni guest artists from across the country, and new compositions commissioned especially for the concert from alumni Nico Muhly (BUTI ’96, ’97) and Timo Andres (BUTI ‘00, ’01). Proceeds from this concert will benefit Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Other offerings include campus tours; a piano recital featuring students and alumni from the Young Artists Piano Program; the alumni panel discussion “Changing Lives, Influencing the World” with Alyson Cambridge (BUTI ’96; soprano), Seth Johnson (BUTI ’71; director at bebe), Amy Matthews (BUTI ’90; star of HGTV’s “Sweat Equity”), Jonathan Palant (BUTI ’90; conductor and founder of the Dallas Street Choir), Lucas Richman (BUTI ’79, ’80; conductor and composer) and Sarah Whitney (BUTI ’99; violinist); and a post-concert reception emceed by Ron Della Chiesa (CGS ’57, COM ’59), radio host of Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts on WCRB 99.5FM and “Strictly Sinatra” and “Music America” on WPLM Easy 99.1FM.
For more information, tickets, and registration, see the Berkshire Edge calendar.
–E.E.
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CEWM to present Catskill High Peaks Festival
Rensselaerville, New York — “The Miracle of Bach” is the theme of this year’s Catskill High Peaks Festival at the Carey Institute for Global Good, set to run Sunday, August 7 – Thursday, August 18. A joint presentation of the Carey Institute and Close Encounters With Music (CEWM), the 10-day chamber music festival and teaching institute offers a combination of concerts, lectures, film and master classes open to the public and featuring faculty artists sharing the stage with young musicians from around the world.
Guest performers will include Peter Zazofsky, winner of Belgium’s Queen Elisabeth Competition and soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, and first violinist of the Muir Quartet; violinist Bayla Keyes, winner of two Grand Prix du Disque awards and founding director of the String Quartet Institute at Tanglewood; and pianist and conductor Michael Chertock, frequent soloist with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, and BBC Symphony Orchestra.
The festival will open with “A Musical Offering — Celebrating J. S. Bach, Beethoven & Duke Ellington” on Sunday, August 7, at 7 p.m. at the Carey Institute’s Guggenheim Pavilion.
In addition to concerts in Rensselaerville, a performance is scheduled on Friday, August 12, at 7 p.m. at Bridge Street Theatre’s Mainstage in Catskill, N.Y.. “Bach and Beethoven in the Tavern” will be presented at the Carey Institute on Saturday, August 13. Throughout the festival, a series of performances by talented up-and-coming musicians participating in the residency will provide audiences with an opportunity to catch a glimpse of some of the classical music world’s future stars. The program will offer “Buddy Day” on Monday, August 15, in which approximately 20 students fromthe Empire State Youth Orchestra in Albany, N.Y., and Kids4Harmony in Pittsfield will participate in a full day of interaction with festival residents and masters, culminating with a 4 p.m. The festival will also include a series of illuminating talks, a “Meet the Artists Tea and Talk,” and free classes and workshops each day. For more information, tickets and schedule, see the Berkshire Edge calendar.
–E.E.
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Mahaiwe to present Broadway star Kelli O’Hara
Great Barrington — Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present a concert by Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara on Sunday, August 7, at 7 p.m. The evening will include classic American Songbook selections accompanied by piano.
A native of Oklahoma, O’Hara received a degree in opera and, after winning the State Metropolitan Opera Competition, moved to New York and enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Institute. She dazzled audiences and critics alike in recent revivals of “South Pacific,” “The Pajama Game,” and “The King and I.” Her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in the critically acclaimed revival of “The King and I” garnered her a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, along with Drama League and Outer Critics Circle nominations. O’Hara’s performance as Francesca in the musical adaptation of “The Bridges of Madison County” earned her Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Additionally, she starred as Mrs. Darling in NBC’s live telecast of “Peter Pan” alongside Allison Williams and Christian Borle and, on New Year’s Eve, O’Hara made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the production of “The Merry Widow” with Renee Fleming. She will make her solo Carnegie Hall debut this fall.
Tickets are $35 to $100, with a limited number of $15 tickets available for those 30 and under. For tickets and information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Mahaiwe box office at (413) 528-0100.
–E.E.
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‘Art and Civil Rights’ with Pops Peterson
Stockbridge – On Saturday, August 6, at 5 p.m., Maurice “Pops” Peterson will present a multimedia talk entitled “Arts and Civil Rights” at the Norman Rockwell Museum (NRM).
Pops Peterson is an award-winning artist and lecturer who will inform, amuse and move his audience in a 60-minute multimedia cavalcade of images, video, music and first-person anecdotes. A rising star in the art world, Pops Peterson has gained prominence with his critically acclaimed series, “Reinventing Rockwell,” in which he is updating the iconic works of Norman Rockwell with contemporary social and political issues to celebrate the diversity of today’s America. Although there have been countless parodies of Rockwell’s vision of Americana, Peterson is local to the Berkshires and the only Rockwell-themed artist ever presented with a solo event in the main gallery of the NRM.
In conjunction with the talk, Sohn Fine Art Gallery in Lenox is presenting the exhibit “The 6 Freedoms” from Peterson’s “Reinventing Rockwell” collection through Sunday, September 25. For more information, contact NRM at (413) 298-4100 or Sohn Fine Art at (413) 551-7353.
–E.E.
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Mt. Washington Church Fair
Mt. Washington — The Mt. Washington Church Fair is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 6, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Mt. Washington Town Hall, 118 East St. This year’s event will feature two new attractions: a community cookbook and a quilt that was handstitched by 16 town residents.
“Mountain Cookery” is an updated and expanded edition of the 1963 original and includes much of the original content plus new recipes from current residents. Purchasers can download one copy of the content to a digital device. The one-of-a-kind quilt, “The Trees of the Mountain,” is made up of 16 crewel-embroidered squares showing images of native leaves, nuts and pods and was designed by Linda Dufault and assembled and finished by Carol Green, both longtime Mt. Washington residents and skilled quilters. Raffle tickets for the quilt may be purchased at the Fair or at Guido’s Fresh Marketplace in Great Barrington.
Antiques dealer Charles Flint will operate the Mt. Washington Antiques Road Show Booth and appraise small prized possessions. A silent auction will offer local services and fine art including “Imminent Trouble,” an oil painting by Morgan Bulkeley. Other returning favorites will include the artists and artisans table; the white elephant tent; Second-Hand Rose & Robert, home to gently used fashions for men, women and children; mountain-made goodies from homemade jams to granola; town logo tees and other exclusive memorabilia; fresh native flowers and plants; original jewelry designs; and a seating area under the trees for relaxing and enjoying hot grill food, an extensive salad bar, ice cream and homemade cakes and pies. Mt. Washington and Otis musical duo Sandy & Sandy will entertain throughout the day, and there will be games, face-painting and a clown for children.
Admission is free and includes a ticket for door prize drawings. Proceeds from the Fair benefit the Mt. Washington’s tiny Church of Christ, open only 10 weeks a year, which in turn distributes most of the funds to a variety of secular and religious, local, national and international charities.
–E.E.
